I used to belong to the Southern California Restaurant Writers group a long time ago. But I began missing meetings and I don’t feel it’s fair to an organization to be less than fully committed.
My life, you see, is lived on the spur of the moment. I often take my cues from something that pops up via an unexpected phone conversation or a missive from some foreign government imploring me to see their culinary cultural heritage.
Living a bit on the edge of the cliff suits me well, but it doesn’t always bode well for making regularly scheduled meetings and such.
Once, for example, the phone rang just before I was leaving on a trip to Asia, asking if I could possibly make a flight to Lausanne, Switzerland only four days after our return from the Asia trip. Hardly, I thought. My husband, Patrick, reminded me that of course I could mange it, since it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend the world’s most famous culinary school in Crissier, just outside Lausanne.
|
|
Louis Laulhere of La Vie en Rose: raking in the awards |
Patrick simply asked me how long it could possibly take for me to wash and repack my clothes. Giggle, giggle, I made the flight and have been thankful since.
Those sorts of things played a part in my decision to resign from the writers group. They have carried on without me. In fact the group is 31 years old.
In the many ensuing years, I didn’t even make it back to one of the organization’s springtime banquets. Until this year.
The evening gives the writers group a chance to hand out awards to restaurants from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. This year’s fest was a fine time, starting with the very impressive array of food served by the Disneyland Hotel.
I got to visit with a lot of restaurateurs and chefs and find out the latest on their dream-chasing adventures. In a surprise seating configuration picked for Patrick and myself by the dinner committee, we were delighted to sit at the table of Louis Laulhere, owner of La Vie en Rose in Brea, and side-by-side with a table of staff and owner Bruno Serato of Anaheim White House.
My readers already know that I consider these two of the best restaurants in Orange County, so it was an honor to be there with them.
I’ll catch up on the food part of this evening, but first to the big surprises doled out. The group’s choice of Southern Californian Restaurateur of the Year is the last and biggest award, the much anticipated finale each year.
There was long and thunderous applause when Louis Laulhere’s name was announced. There was a lot of respect in that room from his peers.
The writers group said: “This is the restaurant industry’s way of saying ‘Louis you are the best! And we appreciate your continued excellence in all that you do at La Vie en Rose Restaurant! Bravo!'”
That was only the crowning glory of the evening for La Vie. In the earlier part of the program, the restaurant was given the Golden Scepter Award for being one of the very best restaurants in Southern California. A few minutes later, La Vie garnered a Golden Bacchus Wine List Award for having one of the top-notch wine lists.
You can’t beat La Vie’s country French cuisine, high-level service, friendliness and those marvelous boutique and famous name wines that Louis corrals. The lovely atmosphere is another pleasantry.
As for that food at Disneyland Hotel, it was another nice surprise. In retrospect, I suppose it shouldn’t have surprised me at all since this hotel has been so serious about its food in the past several years. Its restaurants now are all about fine quality and value.
The banquet was held in the main ballroom, which has been completely and quite beautifully renovated. It’s the only hotel ballroom in OC that has a permanent stage. Thus the room lends itself well to award ceremonies.
The Southern California Restaurant Writers group and the hotel chose to do the dinner in buffet fashion.
But don’t think this was somewhat downscale for this type of affair. I think I’m safe in saying that the several hundred attendees were amazed, as was I, at what the hotel accomplished with its food.
This format allowed all of us to still have our dinner in courses, with the configuration set only by our own desires. It kept the conviviality level high and offered the opportunity to say hello to many, rather than table-hopping at a plated dinner, which only allows constrained access to a few.
The reception already had offered an array of wines, several varieties of cheese and other hors d’oeuvre-type munchies. I was admonished not to miss the sushi bar, the pan-seared Nantucket scallops, the coconut curried acorn squash bisque, the perfectly cooked lamb rack with Peruvian potatoes, the wild mushroom ragout or the baby Portobello mushroom caps filled with the yin-yang of meltingly tender spinach and crackly au gratin crust.
There was wonderfully juicy salmon with a lemon-chive cream sauce, roasted pork with a truly inspired cherry and shallot sauce, the unexpected surprise of roasted Southern yams that I loved, baked chicken with artichoke and more, more, more.
In a well-planned strategy, the awards ceremony was held after the dinner, but before dessert. There was a special reason for that too. The entourage was ushered into another ballroom where a massive oval of tables drew jaw-dropping stares.
There were chocolate fountains in which to dip fresh fruit and pastry squares, a vast array of petit fours, tiny tartlets, small galettes (French cake-like pastries) with not-too-sweet toppings in surprising flavors.
One classic French dessert is chocolate pot de cr & #269;me, which is traditionally served in demitasse cups. Instead of putting this ultra creamy and lush chocolate treat into cups, the pastry chef put it into tiny tart shells of puff pastry. Perfection.
Perhaps what I appreciated most is that it was all served in such small morsels, rather than overly indulgent portions. It allowed all of us to have many dessert experiences at one time and not feel too guilty.
Because of its dedication to food, the Disneyland hotel also walked away with some stellar awards. In an upcoming article, I will share some of the top awards given out to our OC restaurants other than La Vie.
Meantime, rush out to La Vie and Granville’s (the signature gourmet restaurant of Disneyland Hotel).
La Vie: 240 S. State College Blvd., Brea, (714) 529-8333. Granville’s: 1150 W. Magic Way, Anaheim, (714) 778-6600.
Spring Forward
This is the week for the Spring Forward Beer Dinner at TAPS Fishhouse & Brewery in Brea.
I hauled along a group of our gourmet friends for last year’s fest and it’s still a talked-about evening among us.
The terrific alternative to wine dinners is set for this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
TAPS is a fine-looking restaurant. Lots of warm brick, custom glass, rich hardwoods and friendly ambiance to spare. I consider it a destination restaurant.
At Spring Forward, you get to relax and enjoy brewmaster Victor Novak’s spring selections of ales and lagers matched to a four-course menu of executive chef Christopher Maggetti.
As you eat, Victor will share his vision and philosophy of beer making and how he has created an award-winning brewery (they’ve garnered a lot of top awards from the most prestigious beer panels and critics).
In case you’ve missed one of the trends with legs in the culinary and beverage realms, matching food with beer has become serious business, like the early days of finding the right wines for various plates of food.
Unless you’re already familiar with Victor’s beers, you’ll be very impressed with the consumer-friendly brews he makes.
The evening begins with a selection of oysters from British Columbia, prepared in three different styles,Rockefeller, in a yellow curry saut & #233; with cucumber puree and raw on the half-shell.
The matched beer will be Cream Ale, a light, turn-of-the-century American ale with a hint of residual sweetness. It is straw colored, a bit fruity and smooth with a pleasant hop bouquet. It is a multiple award winner.
Second course is New Zealand scallops on the half-shell, served with fris & #233;e, caramelized onion and chervil beurre blanc.
Vienna Country Lager is the match for this course. It’s a medium-bodied, smooth amber lager. Victor says that a generous hand with wheat malt adds more complexity than a standard Vienna Lager.
Then comes Sonoma Valley duck breast with broccolini, fresh and hand-made linguini pasta, finished in a reduced Scotch Ale demi-glace.
Of course, Victor’s 90-Shilling Scotch Ale is the natural match for this. The full-bodied ale is deep reddish-brown and malty, with a hint of toastiness and a slightly sweet finish. It is higher in alcohol content,at 8.2% this is a dangerously drinkable brew.
Raspberry Tear Drop is the dessert dish. This pastry special of TAPS is a white sponge cake with layers of raspberries and Chambord mousse laced with caramelized vanilla bean custard and finished in cr & #269;me anglaise and a ribbon of raspberry coulis.
The beer match for dessert,Liefmans Framboise,is a real treat. This is a classic Belgian brew, a brown ale with fruit prominent raspberries filtering through. It’s not cloyingly sweet.
The TAPS dinner costs $50, all-inclusive. Seating is limited.
TAPS: 101 E. Imperial Highway, Brea, (714) 257-0101.
